Western Block
A small Merchant Republic in East-Central Kansas, The Western Block has eyes on many places and traders battling along many highways in the state. History The Western Block was founded in 2254 by Eustace C. Blake, a minor merchant who persuaded the others in town to all back one currency of their creating. They chose the "Wheat Buck" where a single buck was backed by a bushel of wheat (several merchants owned small farms). At first the Wheat Buck was a crushing failure; the townspeople refused to trade in their money, and two of the seven merchants went broke. This changed the next year however when a serious drought affected the region, killing most crops. Blake was prepared for this however, as he had stored his wheat away, insuring he would have some when it was needed. It became needed very fast as townspeople used up what food they had, they were now willing (albeit grudgingly) to trade in the town currency for Blake's. Blake and the other merchants became very wealthy, very fast, something that a small group of bandits were very interested in. Ten came into town and robbed it, killing three. The citizens, angry and frightened, cheered when Blake announced that he would take care of them. Unknown to the people of Manhattan however, Blake had organized the raid, which he used to kill those who resisted him the most, and the mutilated bodies brought back by his mercenaries were actually just pieces of farmers whose land Blake wanted. Riding the wave of public support, Blake announced next that he was placing the mayor under arrest in his house, and that he and the other merchants aligned with him would step in temporarily. The people at first supported this as they saw the old mayor as incompetent. This changed very fast as Blake announced that he would take control of all public establishments (three at the time) and that the town would be divided among himself and his fellow merchants. The old mayor and his supporters quickly organized to march on Blake's house and demand that he step down. Blake foresaw this however, as he had told the "bandits" to return, and they were waiting for the unsuspecting mob. The resulting ambush put half of the mob in the ground, and the rest was lead to the local jail, where Blake and his mercenaries announced their control of the town. The sheriff tried to form a militia to drive out Blake and his men. By this time however the other merchants managed to gather up some thugs to aid Blake. After coming out victorious, the merchants quickly moved to secure their new holdings, marching their thugs throughout the town announcing their rule. The few townsfolk who refused were gathered together and taken to Blake. He put a pouch of Wheat Bucks in the hands of one protestor and told them that they each would receive a similar bag if they accepted his rule, or they would be ejected from town. The majority of the crowd accepted the offer, and Blake was quickly set up as the ruler of the town. He quickly set about building a communal kitchen and infirmary to keep the people's good will. He also made sure that the other settlement in the ruins, Mission, was annexed. At the same time he also had several of his men go around and confiscate the weapons of the townspeople, and "reimburse" the value of them in wheatbucks. Both to get the new economy off the ground and to prevent an armed uprising. The next two decades were spent expanding the farms (to support the economy) building walls to keep out threats (and the people in) and establishing a weapons trade (melee and basic weapons are made in town, anything more advanced is imported. In 2276 however, scouts reported the ruins of Topeka, and that it was filled by crazed tribals (wandering their way into a skirmish between the Grass Dogs and the Iron Legs). After hearing the report, Blake met with the other merchants to discuss the report. Finding it too dangerous without a large force available, they dismissed any plans or conquest or expansion. While a trade caravan on occassion will trade in the city, it was mostly ignored. three years later, far range scouts came upon the edge of The Grand Principality of New Leavenwood. Disguising themselves as wasters, they managed to scout several locations before raising the attention of the guards. Losing two of the three man party, the remaining scout reached the Block and gave his report directly to Blake. before he made it back, the two captured scouts gave details of the Block to members of the Security Services. Blake, taking the loss of the scouts as a slight, ignored the other merchants and gave orders to the leader of his forces, to establish a small outpost near the Principality. This outpost never got past Topeka however due to a Hunic raiding party. It was after this that he told the other merchants about the Principality (while neglecting to mention the presumed outpost). They authorized another outpost to be occupied by the settlers and builders ahead of the garrison, as they were still negotiating the contract with several mercenary bands. This second outpost was also destroyed however, after they opened fire on a tribal and his bodyguard during the latter pair's actions during the Topeka War. The soldiers arrived to find the slaughter but no signs of who did it. Sending a man back to Blake, the soldiers rebuilt and improved the outpost. a week after the outpost was repaired, The Keystone was destroyed by a union of the local factions, though some were able to find shelter with the Western Block, where they are used as shock troopers. they have recently launched a campaign to secure the strech of I-70 between Topeka and The Block, cleansing raider dens when they can. They have also began to explore options to incorperate Junction City into their growing trade schemes. Government The Block is Ruled by a council of those original merchants, with Blake as the Head. They each control their own fiefs independently, but meet weekly to discuss new issues facing the town, and review existing plans. Each is required to contribute 5% of their yearly rents to the treasury, to fund their mercenary forces as well as any new city constructions. Relations Things are tense with The Principality due to their similar goals, but no action has been taken against them as of yet, due to their distance (not to mention power). With the acquisition of some Super muntants, the Block now possess a steady combat force, and cut ties with the more costly mercenaries. Category:Organization